No homeowner wants to glare at the mess of footprints on the floor. Whether it’s paw prints or human imprints, these can distort the looks of your flooring from something unappealing to nasty.
The quality of flooring, therefore, matters. You want to get flooring that does not show footprints in order to retain the ecstatic appearance of your space and make light of maintenance work.
There are many types of flooring that you can install in your home. But which ones can hide footprints, or dirt, or imprints? Is it even possible that a flooring hides all footprints?
If you want to know more about this topic, read on.
Is There Flooring that Does Not Show Footprints?
One of the biggest questions anyone would ask is whether there’s flooring that does not show footprints. The answer, is rather straightforward – there’s isn’t one flooring type that doesn’t show dirt or footprints completely.
Whether flooring shows footprints and dirt depends on many factors. One of the factors is the location you choose to place the flooring.
In a busy entryway, there is definitely going to be plenty of foot traffic. So, you expect your flooring to gather a lot of dust, dirt, and debris. At the same time, anyone walking on that floor will leave footprints behind – even pets will imprint their paws on the floor especially with water under their feet.
A flooring located in such a place is prone to all kinds of imprints and footprints. However, you install your flooring in an area where there’s less traffic, you’re likely to see few visible marks.
If you choose a flooring that generally hides dirt, you can win big. Check out a fun pattern for the style of your flooring. You can opt to work with a mix of colors and shapes to try and detract eyes from the flooring.
In that context, choosing a floor that resembles natural stone or marble is a great way to hide excess dirt. And, you’d still have the perfect luxurious look of the flooring.
Generally, a mixture of colors and patterns in a flooring is good at concealing dirt. Ensure to select a dark-colored grout that not only complement the flooring but also lessen how dirt and footprints appear.
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Which Is the Best? Light vs. Dark Flooring
Often times, people are either using light or dark flooring. Naturally, it’s presumed that the dark-toned flooring is the best when it comes to hiding footprints and other type of dirt.
Whether that’s true depends on a few things. Dark-colored flooring may be good at initially hiding imprints but after a short period, what seemed like something small, expounds into a huge build-up of footprints with serious clarity.
Lighter flooring, on the other hand shows you all signs of footprints from the start. It’s easy to maintain cleanliness of such flooring before things build up behind your knowledge.
Having said that, you want to strike a balance in the middle of a light and dark flooring. If it’s a vinyl plank flooring, let it be something of a medium tone for brilliance and footprint cover.
Can Flooring Finish Affect the Visibility of Footprints?
In one way or another, the finishes of a flooring can determine whether or not footprints and other imperfections can be loud or quite on the floor. Good thing is that you can have flooring in many different finishes, depending on your preferences and needs.
By and large, a nice satin finish is what you want to adopt for your flooring. This flooring finish can be quite a thing of beauty. Even better, it can hide plenty of marks and scuffs imprinted on the floor.
A glossy finish can be quite beautiful and inviting. The problem with a glossy look is that all the imperfections and mess on the floor will be clearly visible for all to see.
Another type of finish features the hand-scraped engineered wood that provides depth and dimension to your flooring. This finish also comes with texture that can be of great help as far as diminishing imprints can go.
One thing we didn’t mention about satin finishes is their practicality and the ease of maintenance. It’s actually your perfect choice any day if you have pets and kids around. It could hide nearly all forms of dirt and marks on the floor.
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Different Types of Flooring and How They Respond to Footprints
- Hardwood flooring
For an ageless experience, having hardwood flooring in your space is the ideal thing. Hardwood floors are not the best when it comes to concealing footprints.
The main culprit of visible footprints on this flooring is a thin oily film that may form on it. So, the moment you walk on the area, your shoe heels can be seen imprinted.
- Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring can mimic the looks of real wood, tile, or stone. Yet, you buy it at an affordable price. The maintenance of laminate floors is easy compared to other flooring.
Even with the good things that laminate flooring offers, you’ll have to deal with the problem of footprints and dirt on the floor. The floor is sensitive to these kinds of messes. It’s pretty easy to see many visible footprints on the floor finish.
Cleaning the laminate flooring is also a very vital undertaking. If you use the wrong cleaner, you shouldn’t be surprised to see plenty of imprints and streaks.
- Vinyl Flooring
Modern flooring features the vinyl flooring which has been received gladly in the market thanks to its durability and cost-effectiveness. Vinyl flooring is a mix of plastic, acrylic, and other polymers of the same nature.
If you want style and luxury, vinyl plank flooring would be your best bet. In addition, this flooring type can hide footprints and other dirt really well. In fact, there’s not a better flooring type that can keep imprints invisible as the luxury plank flooring.
The main reason vinyl flooring effectively hides footprints is due to its top surface. The top surface consists of the wear layer that’s made of a clear polyurethane coating.
Other benefits of the wear top layer include being resistant to scratches, waterproof, and stain-resistant. Against all odds, vinyl flooring would be the correct choice for a home with pets and children.
- Tile Flooring
The glazed surfaces of tile floors are attractive and durable. However, dust and dirt easily collects on such floors.
When you walk on the tile flooring, you can see stains and marks forming. And, they can be prominent depending on how much dirt is available there.
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How Do You Stop Footprints After Mopping?
It’s easy to see footprints and streaks remain behind even after cleaning the floor. If you undertake cleaning the wrong way using the wrong tools and cleaning agents, you’ll definitely have problems of footprints after mopping.
Here are the different ways how to stop footprints after mopping;
- Make sure you clean the flooring regularly
One way to avoid footprints is cleaning the floor frequently. You want to clean the floor every day and afford a deep clean once a week. This ensures there’s not much dirt and dust on the floor that can form footprints.
- Use mineral spirits and water
Another great way to prevent footprints and imprints on your flooring is by mixing mineral spirits and water, then apply it on the floor. Ensure to select unscented spirits that won’t create some sort of weird smell in your space.
You can use a mop pad to clean the floor. Then, quickly dry out the area you have already mopped – don’t let it air-dry on its own.
- Use the right cleaning agents
You want to ensure that the cleaning agents you use are the correct ones. Get a cleaning solution that’s suited to the flooring type.
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FAQs: Flooring that Does Not Show Footprints
Does vinyl plank flooring show footprints?
Generally, vinyl plank flooring can show footprints if you walk on it or if a pet splashes water on the floor and walks over it. Even so, this is the best flooring type as far as hiding footprints is concerned.
Why does my floor show footprints?
Your floor can show footprints because it’s being walked on – whether it’s people or pets doing that. Also, water can splash on it. And, hardwood floors have the problem of forming an oily film on the surface. These can cause footprints to appear on the floor.
Final Thoughts
It’s not easy to find a flooring that does not show footprints. In one way or another, each flooring type does show footprints.
It could be imprints of your dog’s paws. Or people’s footprints as they walk in the house. Footprints can render your floor dull and unsightly. This is something you want to avoid at all costs because not only do they leave your space dull but also make your cleaning job difficult.
Don’t overlook even a slight show of footprints. They are not as simple as you could mistake them.
